On popular demand, here below I put down the true account of my LASIK experience. Its been a couple of weeks since I had my LASIK surgery done, and speaking from mine own true experience, it has been a cake walk. All ye who are seriously contemplating getting it done, my total green signal for it. The only words of wisdom I could spout on this issue is choose your doctor well, opt for a reputed eye surgeon, and dont be tempted to settle for a cheaper option if you’re not sure and convinced about the person who will operate on you.

Here’s what happened.

I was called into the Operation Centre at 8 am. I landed there quivering like a leaf. Or a stray drenched to the bone in the cold rain. The only standing instructions had been to not use eye make up or deodorant and not to use my contact lenses for at least ten days.

The atmosphere was rather like the Earthling aboard the alien spacecraft. I was draped in green hospital gown. Made to wash my face carefully and wipe it. Hands and feet encased in plastic slip on mocassins. Everyone around with head covered and mouth covered. Add to it, my spectacles had been deposited with the spouse it the waiting room so all I could see were formless blobs of folk hovering around. A quick double check of my existing power was done. The surgeons conferred in muted tones. I had, after all, been wearing semi soft contact lenses ever since I was 15. That had caused some amount of corneal flattening. My eye specialist had already discussed that he would be leaving a slight number in my left eye to enable me to manage without needing reading glasses in a couple of years. At forty, they say, age related eye muscular issues do necessitate reading glasses. And I am just a couple of years away from that hallowed mark.

Some drops were put into my eyes. And I was made to lie down on a operatng table thingie with some machine looming over me. This is the point at which I said my last prayers and thought back to my son’s face as he slept in the morning when I sneaked out of the house. I am squeamish. When it comes to the eyes, I am double squeamish. I had been instructed before to stare at the red light and not move the eyeball. A suction ring was put in place to hold my eyelids open and suction applied. Now hold, your stomach, if you are queasy about these things, your vision goes blank at this point. They told me it would go black. But it went kindoff white, so it was good to be prepared. I, was, of course, fully conscious and struggling with my instinctive impulse to yell Stop, I want to go…the only thing that held me back was vanity and the knowledge that I’d gotten pretty bored of putting in them contact lenses and was even down to the lowness of attending wedding receptions and parties in spectacles. This, from a woman who never stepped out of her house to go down to the lobby in them spectacles, was pure blasphemy.

So when it went blank, I told the doc it had and was asked to keep staring at the green light which went to red as I stared. As the laser started its work. Some whirring sounds and some minor sensation of doctors working on the eye, which, I assure you is quite a turn the stomach kind of feeling, since the immediate reflex is to shut the eyelid but the eyelid cannot be shut, it being held open by suction pump and such like. Its taking me longer to type this than it took for both eyes to be done. Both eyes done I was helped up and taken out of the operation theatre, and as I walked out, things around me were perceptibly sharper and clearer. I saw, for the first time, the spouse crystal clear as I stepped out. Without lenses or spectacles. That was a total aww mushy moment, so will not encourage random barfing by detailing it here.

Dark glasses perched on my nose, prescription for a series of drops to be doused into said eyes at prescribed intervals in hand, I was marched off with warnings to not wash my face or head for a week, not to allow any impact to the cornea, to sleep on my back or side, but not the tummy and to visit back in a couple of days for a post-LASIK check up. And yes, no television, computers or reading. It did take me till the end of the second day to start seeing clearer and a week to see perfectly. But now, I’m two weeks down and dont even miss my glasses or lenses. This feels perfectly natural and as it was meant to be. And the pain, you’re asking? None. Absolutely none. Just some irritation and haziness and some amount of headache because of the blurry vision initially. Why on earth did I wait so long to have this done?

This post has been done to kick all those who are on the fence into getting the LASIK done. Spectacles and lenses are such a bondage. Getting up in the morning and being able to see the world crystal clear is such a miracle, I cant thank God enough!

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About Kiran Manral

Kiran Manral published her first book, The Reluctant Detective in 2011. Since then, she has published nine books across genres till date. Her books include romance and chicklit with Once Upon A Crush (2014), All Aboard (2015), Saving Maya (2017); horror with The Face at the Window (2016), psychological thriller with Missing, Presumed Dead (2018) and nonfiction with Karmic Kids (2015), A Boy’s Guide to Growing Up (2016) and True Love Stories (2017).
Her short stories have been published on Juggernaut, in magazines like Verve and Cosmopolitan, and have been part of anthologies like Chicken Soup for the Soul, Have a Safe Journey (2017) and Boo (2017). Her articles and columns have appeared in the Times of India, Tehelka, DNA, Yowoto, Shethepeople, New Woman, Femina, Verve, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Conde Nast Traveller, DB Post, The Telegraph, the Asian Age, iDiva, TheDailyO and more.
She was shortlisted for the Femina Women Awards 2017 for Literary Contribution. In 2018, she was awarded the International Women's Day award for literary excellence by ICUNR and Ministry of Women and Children, Government of India. She is a TEDx speaker and a mentor with Vital Voices Global Mentoring Walk 2017.

Superb..gave me lot of hopes. Will try soon. However, what about the long term effects? I mean some 10-15 years down the line? I had been to check up with a doc for Lasik, he was very positive in the beginning but during the course of the talk, he ended up saying that all operations have their risk factor and i cannot give you 100% guarantee and there…after listening to him..i just dropped the idea. Your post was definitely encouraging.

You certainly were brave! Sounds like the procedure was worth the effort. I’m still chicken about someone fiddling with my eyes!
Talking about seeing clearly, here’s a funny incident for you. A few years ago, very early one morning, my husband found me patting my eyes in my sleep. When he gently woke me up, I sleepily told him “I was just checking to see if I slept with my glasses on, I can see my dreams very clearly”. He still wont let me forget that episode!

Kiran, meant to email you but since this is a LASIK post, here’s the question.
Did you have an eye test before you went for the LASIK? Or was your eye test + lasik the same day? I ask because I think there’s some period you have to wear glasses for before the eye test too.

Obviously I’m counting the number of days I’d have the wear my hideous glasses heh.

hi kiran,
your writeup does make me rethink about getting lasik done…all my worries are of the halos seen after getting the surgery and all other side effects which i have read on diff websites, incl dryness, etc.. no doubt i think it gives a lot in return as compared side effects. The fact is that in my case i have some docs saying my lenses have enough thickness to get it done, while some say it is very close and that they have latest equipment to do it so not to worrry.. Thus a lot skepticism.

It was good to read about your experience…anyway may be one day i too would like to wake up seeing the world crystal clear without glasses or contacts

Ohh this is so encouraging. I am petrified at the thought of someone beaming lasers into the eyes. And lug my specs wherever I go. I totally get what you said about getting up in the morning to a clear room than blurry objects, to turn your face around without seeing split vision…
Maybe… (I still have my paranoia) I should give this a chance.